Radio award winners

The winners of the annual Imison Award and Tinniswood Award for radio drama have been announced at a reception in London compered by leading radio producer Gordon House.

The Tinniswood Award

Honouring the best original radio drama script broadcast in 2009, the Tinniswood Award went to Ivan And The Dogs by Hattie Naylor

Also shortlisted were:

• The Moment You Feel It by Ed Harris
• Cry Babies by Kim Newman
• Vent by Nigel Smith
• People Snogging In Public Places by Jack Thorne

The prize of £1,500 is donated by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, and the judges were Sheila Goff, John Tydeman and Katharine Way. The Award is administered by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.

The Imison Award

Honouring the best original radio drama script by a writer new to radio, broadcast in 2009, the Imison Award went to The Road Wife by Eoin McNamee

Also shortlisted were:

• The Lady Of Kingsland Waste by J Parkes (Highly Commended)
• Trying by Erin Browne
• Fifteen by Deborah Wain

The prize of £1,500 is donated by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation. It is judged by members of the Society of Authors’ Broadcasting Committee (David Docherty (Chair), Mike Bartlett, Nazrin Choudhury, Alison Joseph, Nell Leyshon, Karen Liebreich, Sue Limb, Karl Sabbagh, Colin Teevan and Nick Warburton).

Radio drama cuts

Speaking at the awards reception to an audience containing many of the UK's leading radio drama executives, as well as the new Controller of Radio 4, Gwyneth Williams, Gordon House lamented the recent cuts to drama output on BBC Radio 4 and the cessation of drama output for BBC World Service. The guest speaker, Rose Tremain, echoed these sentiments and also called for more 90-minute drama time-slots to be made available.

Gordon House, Hattie Naylor, Rose Tremain, Eoin McNamee and Gwyneth Williams
(Photo: Alison Baxter)